Part 1
On the wall of the lobby in Sharma Haveli, the clock showed twelve o'clock, fifty-four minutes, and forty-three seconds of a pleasant night.
I have described the night as pleasant because everyone was sleeping in great peace. I have written such a precise time—twelve o'clock, fifty-four minutes, and forty-three seconds—because the night was pleasant only until that very moment.
In the forty-fourth second, it was as if an uproar broke out in the Haveli. As soon as their sleep was shattered, the family members were rushing towards the main gate of the Haveli like arrows released from a bow. This was because someone, or it would be more appropriate to write that several people, had suddenly started pounding on the main door in such a manner as if an apocalypse would arrive if the door was not opened in the next three to four seconds. Either those inside the Haveli would be killed, or those pounding on the door.
Among those rushing towards the door were five young boys and a young girl, along with their father. Panic and terror had overpowered everyone to such an extent that they could not gather even a moment's patience. By 'a moment's patience,' I mean that if they had asked who was outside before opening the door, they would have had to endure a moment of patience. But in this sensational atmosphere, that one moment began to seem as long as an era; therefore, without knowing who, someone opened the door in the blink of an eye.
A police inspector and five constables behind him entered inside one after another. Earlier there was dim light, but now someone had switched on the tube light.
"Which one of you is named Raja? Tell me quickly!" the Inspector screamed at the top of his lungs while looking at the time on his mobile.
Hearing the Inspector's question, everyone started looking at each other. Immediately, the Inspector grabbed a boy by his collar and growled— "Tell me quickly, who among you is Raja?"
"What has Raja done?" that boy asked back, feeling a bit intimidated.
Not getting a proper answer, the Inspector pushed him back forcefully and then said— "Just a little while ago, I received a missed call on my mobile—my sleep was broken. I was just trying to dial that number when I saw a WhatsApp message from the same number. I immediately opened WhatsApp, and in it, the address of your Haveli was written, and a challenge was given to kill Raja at exactly one o'clock by that person named 'The Enigma'. It is now twelve o'clock and fifty-seven minutes; only three minutes are left."
Read further in Part 2